Reunited Colleagues
by mutantblueberry
Summary: Cass, Yo-Yoji and Max-Ernest are perfectly contented with their adult lives but what happens when the trio suddenly meet? What's more, what happens when the Terces Society regains contact with them after so many years? *CONTAINS SPOILERS*
1. A Deadly Fire

Chapter one: A deadly Fire

Cassandra was just casually walking home from her work as a Charity Worker for a charity to end Child Slavery. She was still living with her mom because she literally begs her to stay with her until she retires although there is that small part of her that would willingly stay with her mom even without the begging. But she knows better than to let other people see that side of her.

She was pondering over what she would cook for dinner since her step-brother, Daniel, refuses to cook for anyone but himself.

The huge mass of black smoke in front of her broke her from her reverie. She quickly shot back to reality when she saw that the nearby building was on fire.

The Fire Department still wasn't there and dozens of workers were screaming for help.

She knew it was wrong for her to be excited in a time like this but even as an adult she was still a survivalist. But her instincts to help herself survive had now become instincts to help others survive too.

Quickly, she pulled out her handkerchief from her pocket and emptied out her water bottle onto it and covered her mouth with it, a trick she learned from a magazine article.

She dashed into the building and about four people were scattered around the room, coughing and wheezing.

In a span of about 20 minutes she had already rescued three people from a deadly fire. She was quite proud of herself but she knew it wasn't over yet. She still had to rescue one last person.

She found a tall and skinny worker that has practically fainted on the marble flooring. She thought she recognized him from somewhere but couldn't quite make out who he was.

Quickly, she put the worker's arm around her shoulder and ran to the exit. Fortunately, they both survived.

After the medics have finished checking the workers' blood pressure and they were all now safe and back to their feet, she walked over to the last worker to confirm her suspicions.

When she reached him, he was still coughing and staggering but he was fine.

"Thank you." He said, looking up at her.

And when she saw his face, she now remembered everything.

"Yo-Yoji?!" she blurted out.

"Cass?!" he replied.


	2. A rusty old Apartment Building

Chapter two: A rusty old apartment building

Stricken, Cass stared at the old friend in front of her. She had lost contact with them since their high-school years.

Finally recovering from her shock, she sat down beside him.

"Wow, long time no see!" Yo-Yoji said.

"Yeah. Um, what have you been up to?" she stammered, trying to spark up a conversation.

"Telemarketing." He said, kind of embarrassed.

"Telemarketing?" Cass said with a chuckle. She never imagined Yo-Yoji to be a telemarketer.

"Why, what's so wrong about telemarketing?"

"Nothing. It's just that I never imagined you as a telemarketer. I thought you would be in a band or something."

After that statement, they both just sat there, not saying anything until Cass blurted out, "Do you know where Max-Ernest is these days?"

"Yeah, dude. We're actually roommates."

"Really? Can I visit him?"

He nodded and they walked together in silence to their apartment building. Well, more like Cass walked and Yoji trudged.

When they finally reached the aforementioned apartment building, Cass stopped in front of it. She was silently mumbling about how this very building could be responsible for dozens of deaths because of its structure. It had so many trash strewed around it that they had to hold their breaths until they were inside the building to avoid the foulest stench they have ever encountered in their entire lives.

When they reached the basement, they gasped for air and had momentarily breath of fresh air until a fat and sweaty old man in a jumpsuit ran across them, burrowing them in an even fouler stench.

Grudgingly, Cass walked towards the rusty elevator with Yo-Yoji trailing behind, still not regaining his posture.

The elevator creaked open and Cass grumpily stepped in.

Noticing Cass' facial expression, Yo-Yoji decided to speak up.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that how can you two live in a place like this? This building is a complete dump!"

"Listen, dude, I know this place is horrible but once Max-Ernest gets his paycheck from his publishers, he promised that we'll move out eventually so calm down."

Cass nodded, obviously not pleased at all with his answer. _Publishers_? _What is he a writer now?_ She pondered, momentarily forgetting Max-Ernest's experience with the double monocle.

The elevator stopped to a halt and creaked open. Cass marched outside and Yo-Yoji, now slowly regaining his pace, walked out with a pained expression on his face.

He walked over to the third door to his right and noticed it was locked.

He knocked loudly and said, "Yo, Max-Ernest! Open up, dude! We have a visitor!"

A scruffy man in his mid-twenties opened the door while mumbling to himself and voraciously eating a bar of chocolate.

Cass was shocked. He wasn't the Max-Ernest she remembered at all.

"Cass?!" Max-Ernest said.

"Yeah. Hi." Cass said reluctantly. For some reason, she felt uneasy around him.

The shocked Max-Ernest then welcomed her into their apartment building where she got greeted by a mangy cat and a white rabbit nibbling on a carrot.

She sat down at their old gray couch while Yo-Yoji prepared hot chocolate for both of them.


	3. Fights and Conversations

Chapter three: Fights and conversations

The three of them sipped their hot chocolates in silence, unsure of what to say.

Finally, Yo-Yoji decided to speak up.

"So, um, Cass, what have you been up to?" he said, uncharacteristically stammering.

"Um, I've been doing charity work since we graduated." She too was having trouble finding the right words.

Yo-Yoji nodded.

"So, have you guys had any contact with the other Terces members?" Cass asked.

"No… not even Master Wei. I don't even think we're members anymore."

"Of course we are!" shouted Cass, standing up. She suddenly felt the need to defend the Terces Society. To defend Pietro.

"They can't just kick us out! After everything we did for them, you think they would just kick us out?!"

"That's not what I meant. I just think that the Terces Society is, uh, gone…" replied Yo-Yoji, now standing up as well.

Max-Ernest, still practically frozen in place, stared at his two friends. He had never seen them fight before. Most of the time, they would team up to fight _him _not each other! He felt uneasy.

"How can you say that?! How can you even _think_ that?! Just because _I_ know the Secret doesn't mean that Lord Pharaoh still doesn't want it!" shouted Cass.

They froze for a moment at the mention of their arch-nemesis' name, remembering all the cruel things he had done in the past and imagining the even more cruel things he would do in the future, in case the trio meet him again.

Yo-Yoji sighed.

"Listen, dude, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just saying the truth." He replied glumly, sitting back down.

Cass sat back down too, though it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that she wasn't satisfied at all with his answer but there is that small part of her that actually agrees.

The still stricken Max-Ernest stood up, looking like he may say something but thought better of it. He walked towards their greasy kitchen to refill his cup of hot chocolate.

Cass sighed. At least there's something that still hadn't changed about her friend; his chocolate addiction.

Max-Ernest scratched his beard and sat down again, squeezed between his two friends. He felt awkward at the most but somewhat courageous too. The chocolate probably helped.

"Why are you here?" asked Max-Ernest offensively, turning to Cass.

"What? Nothing! For your information, I saved Yo-Yoji's life!" stated Cass. She was shocked by Max-Ernest's attitude. _Since when was he so good at emotions? _Cass thought.

"Oh." Max-Ernest replied, red-faced.

After that it was silence again until Yo-Yoji stood up to go to the bathroom.

They immediately knew what he was doing because of another foul stench that filled the room.

Cass covered her nose and mouth with her hand and scurried out of the room.

She gasped for air again until she was finally recovered from the you-know-what's foulness

Max-Ernest rushed behind her, not bothering to cover his nose. He was used to being surrounded by smells like that one.

He stood in front of Cass, as if waiting for her to say something.

Cass smirked. He had gotten taller. Much taller. He was now taller than she was.


	4. Fights and Conversations Part 2

Chapter four: Fights and conversations part 2

After Yo-Yoji was done doing his "thing", Cass suggested that they eat at the food court nearby and both of them were so stoked to eat food that isn't expired or almost expired that they agreed right away.

It turns out that neither of them had a car so they had to walk again.

After they got to the food court, Cass discovered that neither of them also had any money so she had to provide food for her friends once again.

Cass bought both of them burgers and just bought a strawberry milkshake for herself.

Her two friends wolfed down the burgers so quickly that Cass was momentarily terrified that they would wolf her down as well because of how hungry they were.

After the trio have finished, Cass told them how she's been having nightmares about Lord Pharaoh since last week and she just knows that he's here, lurking about, watching them…

Yo-Yoji thought she was just being crazy and paranoid but Max-Ernest knew better. He gave himself a mental slap because of writing those books, Lord Pharaoh now probably has a clue to where they are.

Cass noticed the nervous expression on Max-Ernest's face so she asked him what's wrong.

"N-n-n-nothing!" Max-Ernest stammered. Cass sighed. She would investigate later.

Cass then proceeded to tell them about her nightmares and she was able to convince Yo-Yoji to start believing that Lord Pharaoh is out there as well.

"But how are we supposed to find him without… without the Terces Society's help, yo?" Yo-Yoji asked whispering.

"I don't really know." Cass admitted.

"The Double Monocle!" Max-Ernest shouted then immediately clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Do you still have it?" he continued, now more silently.

"Well, I..I lost it." Cass stammered, red-faced.

"What?!" they both exclaimed.

"How could you lose something like that?! You're… you're Cass!" Max-Ernest shouted.

"It wasn't my fault! Melanie threw it away when I was at school! IT'S. NOT. MY. FAULT!" Cass said defensively. She hated it when people blamed her for something that isn't really entirely her fault.

Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji just glared at her. They couldn't believe it! Cass, the one who always reminded them to be prepared, the survivalist, had just lost the one thing that could be the key to finding Lord Pharaoh!

Cass just sat there, her pointy ears practically steaming with anger. But it wasn't just her ears that were red, but her whole face as well. Deep down, though, she was extremely, extremely embarrassed because of her carelessness.

After, they've went their separate ways and Cass glumly walked home.

She unlocked her front door and stepped inside.

An almost crying Daniel then rushed over to her.

"Cass! I've missed you so much! It's so good that you're back! I'm so hungry I think I'm going to pass out!" he exclaimed.

Cass laughed. "Why didn't you just eat out?"

"Because I don't have any money! Just please… please just cook something…anything! I'll eat anything!"

Cass laughed again and went to the kitchen to make some Chicken Soup.

While cooking, she decided to tell him about meeting Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji. They were his friends too, after all. She just left the part about the Terces Society out because as much as she loves her brother, there are just some things that people are not meant to know about.

"So, I saw Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji today." She said in-between stirs of her soup.

"Really? Did you talk to them?" he asked, now calmed down when Cass promised to make him soup.

"Yes. They're actually roommates, can you believe it?"

"Really? That's pretty trippy. They're exact opposites."

"Yeah, I know."

After that, Cass was finished and they both enjoyed her soup like how cats enjoy yarn.


	5. A Peculiar Package

Chapter five: A peculiar package

Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji arrived home happily. Both of them couldn't remember when the last time they ate real food was.

Yo-Yoji slumped down in their sofa while Max-Ernest stood by the doorway, not bothering to sit down.

"What?" Yo-Yoji asked with only the slightest bit of concern.

"Nothing. It's just that I haven't told Cass that I was writing about the three of us yet."

After that, it was complete and utter silence. Both of them weren't used to complete silence since they always had something to talk about. Well, at least Max-Ernest always had something to talk about.

A hard knock on their door shot both of them back to reality.

Max-Ernest opened the door to see a man in his early-twenties in a blue and green uniform holding a small cardboard box.

"Package for Mr. Xxxxx?" the man asked gleefully.

Max-Ernest nodded and the man handed him a clipboard for him to sign on and a pen.

Max-Ernest scruffily did so and took the package from the man's hands.

He stepped inside their apartment building and looked at Yo-Yoji.

Yo-Yoji looked at the package then stood up to take it from him.

With Max-Ernest peering off his shoulder, Yo-Yoji carefully cut open the sides.

While opening it, they both noticed that it didn't have a return address.

Inside the cardboard box, the both saw a small pack of M&M's and a note taped to the back.

It read:

**Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji, this package is for you. I hope you use it correctly.**

**Owen**

"Owen?!" they both exclaimed in unison.

Could it really be _the_ Owen? The Owen from the Terces Society? And how were they supposed to use the chocolate correctly? They both pondered.

Max-Ernest greedily took the pack from the box and tore it open. He couldn't resist.

Yo-Yoji slapped it from his hand.

"Dude, don't eat it!"

"Why?!" asked Max-Ernest angrily.

"We might need it!" he said and snatched it from him.

As he peered inside the pack, he noticed that the chocolates had an individual letter on them. But the letters weren't all M's, they were all different ones.

"Yo, dude, look." He grinned, showing him his discovery.

"What?" Max-Ernest asked, not bothering to look. He was still mad about the chocolate thing. He knew that he was so obsessed with chocolate, so why did he take it from him?

Yo-Yoji emptied the pack on their wooden table and started deciphering and rearranging the M&M's to see what message they would get.

His brow furrowing in concentration, he switched the colorful candy with each other for roughly thirty minutes until he finally got it.

He may be no Max-Ernest, but he can decipher a code if needed to.

Their message from the Terces Society was:

Urgent: Meeting tonight at midnight at HQ. Bring Cass.

Cheeks tingling with excitement, Yo-Yoji showed Max-Ernest what he just discovered.


	6. The Meeting

Chapter Six: The Meeting

The cold wind felt great in Max-Ernest's face, though he still felt anxious. Normally so bad at emotions, he was now in full-blown panic.

"What do you think it's about?" he keeps asking Yo-Yoji, whose look of annoyance never seems to fade whenever Max-Ernest is in one of his moods.

"Dunno. Maybe they just wanted to see how we were doing?"

"No. They wouldn't contact us in this way if it was just for that reason." Said Max-Ernest, shaking his head.

"Just stop worrying, dude! What could possibly go wrong?"Yo-Yoji replied, grinning.

Max-Ernest didn't think it was a laughing situation at all.

"Why is she so late?" Max-Ernest asked after a while. He was now pacing around, looking at his watch every two seconds.

Just then, Cass arrived.

"You're twenty-nine minutes and seventeen seconds late."

"Sorry." Cass said, not feeling that sorry at all.

"I had to make dinner again for Daniel and had to make a hundred excuses. You know Mel. She always treats me like a child even if I'm already 24."

They then continued to walk in the gentle breeze, nervously waiting what would happen.

The CAT FOOD trailer looked the same, only older.

It was covered with patched of rust and dried-out paint. Its wheels were a brownish-grayish color; the windows cracked and covered with bird droppings.

The roof was covered in moldy cotton candy and random pieces of scrap paper.

The two clowns stood merrily by the doorway, their faces as happy as ever.

The taller, skinnier one, Morrie, was paler than usual, his gray hair softly blowing in the wind, traces of clown makeup in his face.

The other one, Mickey, had his left handed in a cast, wrinkles burrowing themselves beside his eyes.

Cass started to wonder what the other Terces members looked like. It had been a good ten years of not seeing any of them, so she knew something was going to be different.

"Cass?! Max-Ernest?! Yo-Yoji?! Are you really the young trio that we've come to know and love? Why, you aren't young at all!" Mickey boasted, as if hinting that they were somehow younger than the trio. More things changed with the trio than with the clowns, though.

Cass nodded and smiled shyly. She felt so awkward and she didn't know why.

"Yep, that's us!" Yo-Yoji said, grinning proudly.

Max-Ernest stared blankly at the two men. He felt uneasy. He was worried that they knew he wrote about them. Sure, he made sure to change the names and locations so that the Midnight Sun has now way in tracking them, but he still felt…weird.

The two clowns ushered them in where they were greeted by a beautiful blonde-haired woman. No, she wasn't Ms. Mauvais, if you were worried about that.

Max-Ernest blushed. He forgot to shave this morning; as well as the day before.

"What's up, dudes?" the woman greeted. Owen.

Max-Ernest shook his head. He couldn't believe he was _slightly _attracted to _Owen._ He reminded himself that Owen was really good at disguises and he shouldn't feel ashamed.

Despite all the self-comforting, he still didn't feel better.

They were then greeted by a still-grumpy Mr. Wallace and a jolly e_ven older_ Pietro which was now in a wheelchair, being pushed by a still vigorous Lily.

"Hello, children. Er, I mean, hello… Terces members."

Cass smiled. She was finally treated like an adult. She's only been waiting all her life.

Myrtle was making lemonade, her beard hair graying. Max-Ernest thought it was odd, knowing that Myrtle's beard was, in fact, fake.

Myrtle then distributed the glasses of lemonade and they proceeded to talk about the very reason why they were reunited once again.


	7. The Meeting Part 2

Chapter Seven: The Meeting Part ii

The trio felt a weird sensation bubble inside of them. It all felt so sudden to meet up like this.

Myrtle had just sat down beside Lily after wobbling the tray of lemonade around the room.

"Do you know why we called you here?" asked Mr. Wallace, as grumpy as ever.

"No, 'cause you refused to tell us in your little note." Yo-Yoji snorts. Mr. Wallace shoots him a look. Owen snickers.

"Anyway," Pietro started.

"We brought you here because the Midnight Sun is up to their old tricks." He continued.

This statement caused gasps around the room. Apparently, only Mr. Wallace and Pietro knew about it.

"What?! I thought they gave up after… after Cass found out what the….Secret was." Myrtle exclaimed. Somehow, no one bothered to correct her or even shoot her a condescending glance for talking about the Secret in public. It was practically the Terces Society's only rule.

"Yes, yes, we know. But somehow, Ms. Mauvais has managed to bring the Midnight Sun back to life by herself," said Mr. Wallace.

"That is messed up," replied Yo-Yoji, shaking his head.

"What we need you to is to-ah find them and, ah, make sure that they do not succeed in their plans." Pietro said, weakly. He was more than a hundred years old at that time but he was still lively in a way that made Cass tear up a bit, though she knew better than to let anybody see her eyes.

"How?" Max-Ernest finally asked.

"You!" exclaimed Lily, pointing her katana at him.

"You are the reason why they found out about us!"

"Wh-What?" Max-Ernest stuttered out.

"Your books! Your stupid books! You just _had _to write about the Terces society?!" Lily continued, anger bursting from her facial expression.

"I-"Max-Ernest said, but didn't have the ability to finish. He felt attacked, and indeed he was.

"Lily, calm down! We all know what he did. What's done is done," said Pietro, pointing his finger at the Terces Society's strongest member.

Lily slumped down in her seat, still shooting looks at Max-Ernest.

Cass was practically speechless, aside from the gasps she shared with the others.

All this time, she thought they were finally safe, not once did she worry about having to face the Midnight Sun again, which was weird, yes, seeing as how Cass was always prepared for everything.

Cass was angry at Max-Ernest for writing about the Terces Society, but not nearly as angry as Lily. She kind of saw it coming when the scene with the double monocle.

"So, how are we going to find Ms. Mauvais?" asked Yo-Yoji.

"According to some sources, they've either been hiding out in Japan or France," said Owen casually.

"But that's on two different sides of the world! What do you expect us to do? Fly on two different countries because of _rumors_?" Cass shouted. She clearly had no time for this, no matter how much she wanted to help the Terces members again. She had a job now; a life.

"We didn't mean that you three would travel to Japan or France _directly._ Owen will investigate around those parts and report back if he sees anything suspicious. If he _does _see anything, that's where you three come in." Myrtle explained.

The trio nods. The three of them then looked at each other with only one thing in their minds: Here we go again.


End file.
